Blog Archives

Posted on November, 2015 by Mark Turner

Patterns are everywhere in the world around us. Our eyes and our brains are optimized for seeing and recognizing patterns, but turning them into photographs takes a little thought. We can find interesting visual patterns both in the natural world and in the built environment.

Patterns can be abstract or geometric, repetitive or unique. They may be revealed through color, texture, line, or brightness. We can find patterns at any scale from the microscopic to the vastness of interstellar space. With the right tools you can photograph them all. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo Tip, Photography | Tagged patterns, photo tip, photography

Bloody Moon Over the Mountain

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Mark Turner

Sunday, September 27 was the evening for both a “super moon” and a total lunar eclipse. Super moon simply means the moon appears larger in the sky because it is closer to the earth. I headed up to Artist Point and out the ridge to Huntoon Point to photograph the eclipsed moon rising over Mt. Shuksan. I knew where the moon would be from advance planning using the web app, Photographer’s Ephemeris. Continue reading →

Posted in Mountains, Photography | Tagged lunar eclipse, Mt. Shuksan, photography

Plant of the Month: Piggyback Plant

Posted on October, 2015 by Mark Turner

Now that our autumn rain has arrived, the forest floor in our woodland has sprung back to life. It’s almost like a second spring even though the trees are beginning to shed their leaves. Underfoot, piggyback plant (Tolmiea menziesii) has greened back up and is busy producing little plantlets atop nearly every leaf. Continue reading →

Posted in Gardens, Native Plants, Plants | Tagged native plants, piggyback plant, Tolmiea menziesii

Digital Photo Tip: Think in Layers

Posted on October, 2015 by Mark Turner

One of the challenges in two-dimensional art, including photography, is creating the illusion of depth on a flat piece of paper or computer screen. Layering the elements in your composition is one way to do it.

Layering is a variation on having a foreground, middle ground, and background in your image. You can place your main subject in any of those positions, although layering is most effective when your subject is in the middle layer. The technique works for many subjects, whether you’re photographing your family, your car, or a favorite landscape. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo Tip, Photography | Tagged creating depth, photo tip, photography

Northern Lights and the Night Sky

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Mark Turner

I was blessed to witness a brief display of the northern lights last night. I was at Artist Point, the end of the road above the Mt. Baker Ski Area, photographing a high school senior portrait. We finished the session in the twilight and after putting my lighting gear in my truck I returned to the viewpoint for Mt. Baker and began photographing the stars in the night sky. You can get an rv, 4wd, campervan and motorhome rentals.

A little later Derek, who was also photographing the sky, and his mom called to me that the northern lights had appeared over the mountains to the north. I turned to see the eerie green glow I captured in the photo above. The display only lasted about 15 minutes before fading away. Continue reading →

Posted in Mountains, Photography | Tagged night, northern lights, Pacific Northwest, photography, sky

Plant of the Month: Cascade Blueberry

Posted on August, 2015 by Mark Turner

Cascade Blueberry fruit nestled under fall foliage.

Every year we northwest lowlanders make pilgrimages to the mountains to savor Vaccinium deliciosum, Cascade blueberries (aka blueleaf huckleberry, Cascade bilberry, or Rainier blueberry). This low-growing and widespread blueberry lives up to its Latin name, for the fruit is truly delicious. When you find a patch loaded with fruit you can feast for a long time on sweet tastiness.

In this low-snow, warm-summer year the blueberries have ripened earlier than usual. Last weekend Natalie and I hiked out to Low Pass and High Pass, above Twin Lakes and just south of Mount Larrabee. In many places the trail is cut into a steep slope and we could graze on blueberries at waist level without even having to bend over. It can’t get much better than that! Continue reading →

Posted in Native Plants, Plants | Tagged blueberries, native plants, plant of the month, Vaccinium deliciosum

Digital Photo Tip: Expand Space by Going Wide

Posted on August, 2015 by Mark Turner

A wide-angle lens emphasizes Western Anemone seedheads along the trail to Mount Larrabee. The lens was only a foot or so from the foregound subject.

One of the strengths of compact cameras, and even cell phone cameras, is their ability to shoot wide-angle close-ups. These little cameras focus closest at their widest zoom setting. That seems counter-intuitive but it’s the way they work. So take advantage of this by going close to your subject, but leaving some space around it to show a hint of the environment, too. It’s a great technique for wildflowers, garden flowers, and other nature-type subjects, but not so good for people because the exaggerated effect that can make your sweetie’s face look fat and her nose like Pinocchio. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo Tip, Photography | Tagged digital photography, photo tip, wide-angle

Digital Photo Tip: Use Aperture to Control Depth of Field

Posted on July, 2015 by Mark Turner

One of the most powerful creative tools photographers have at their disposal is choosing which parts of a photo should be sharp and which parts should be soft. This sharp/soft contrast is a very good way to set a subject apart from the background. We call this depth of field because we’re controlling apparent sharpness from close to the lens to the far distance.

In the pair of landscape photos above, one was made at the relatively wide aperture of f/5 (left side of the slider)and the other stopped down to f/16 (right side). Notice the difference in sharpness in the foreground flowers. My focus point was on distant Mount Baker in both versions. These images were made with my lens at 70mm, a short telephoto. Continue reading →

Posted in Photo Tip, Photography | Tagged digital photography, photo tip

Plant of the Month: Pinesap

Posted on July, 2015 by Mark Turner

I ran across a near-perfect specimen of another one of our mycoheterotrophic plants on a hike up to Excelsior Ridge in mid-June. This one is pinesap, Monotropa hypopitys. It’s fairly common in our dry forests, growing under Douglas-firs or hemlocks. If you’re following along each month, you’ll recall that I introduced you to a rather uncommon mycoheterotroph last month, California broomrape.

Pinesap is in the same family as heather, rhododendron, and huckleberries. But unlike those big and showy plants, pinesap doesn’t have any chlorophyll and can’t make its own food. It depends on a complex relationship with fungi in the soil to connect its roots to those of a host plant from which it derives its nutrients. Continue reading →

Posted in Native Plants | Tagged Monotropa hypopitys, native plants, pinesap, wildflowers

Why Get Senior Portraits Before Your Senior Year?

Posted on June, 2015 by Mark Turner

Tia Gonzales senior portrait. Ferndale, WA. © 2014 Mark Turner

Every year about this time I get puzzled looks from kids who have just finished their junior year in high school, and their parents, when I remind them that now is the time to get their senior portraits made. Portraits just aren’t on their mind as the carefree (or busy with a job) days of summer approach.

Why get senior portraits made now, rather than toward the end of senior year? For most high school seniors in Whatcom County, it boils down to the yearbook deadline. All local schools require senior portraits to be submitted around early October. Most schools accept and encourage creative senior portraits from independent photographers (Ferndale is an exception). Continue reading →

Posted in Portraits, Senior Portraits | Tagged portraits, senior portraits

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